For the first time in four years, regional grid operator PJM Interconnection is adding new generation projects to its interconnection queue.
PJM, which serves 67 million people across portions of 13 states and the District of Columbia, announced last week that 811 new generation projects that can generate 220 gigawatts of electricity have applied to connect to the grid through the first cycle of its “reformed” interconnection process.
But advocates and legislators Inside Climate News interviewed warned that the reopening of the queue offers no near-term relief for consumers. They also say the yearslong delay has already done irreversible damage to states such as Maryland that were counting on renewable energy projects for mandated emissions reduction and decarbonization targets.
For Maryland, which has a legally binding target of 100 percent clean electricity by 2035 and must reach net zero by 2045, the interconnection logjam coincided with the Trump administration’s aggressive dismantling of federal clean energy policy architecture, revoking of offshore wind projects’ permits and prioritizing new fossil fuel drilling and nuclear power. The political headwinds and funding cuts stripped states of key incentives they were banking on for the clean energy transition.
